D:A:D has also showed that other drugs did not have these side effects.

D:A:D has also shown whether guidelines are being followed.

It reported on use of lipid lowering drugs among HIV-positive people

It provided evidence that stopping smoking has similar impact on heath for HIV positive people as the general population

It showed that people at high risk of suicide were not using efavirenz (and that efavirenz did not increase suicide rates in people who were not at high risk)

What is needed now?

We need this essential study to continue.

We need new patients to be included to answer the same questions for the newest drugs and combinations.

Why do we need D:A:D to continue?

D:A:D is critical for many reasons:

D:A:D results gives people the confidence to start HIV treatment. It is an independent study that produces real-life data (including people who are not well-represented in studies, including women).

Because HIV treatmentis now being used earlier and at higher CD4 counts.

Because D:A:D can detect new safety concerns that we might not yet know about.

D:A:D can look at risks in specific groups of people living with HIV. For example, by age at infection, gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, illicit drug use, and in younger and older people.

ART is lifelong. We therefore need longer-term information about drug- and drug class-specific safety and tolerability, including additional data on reversibility of toxicities when drugs are switched.

D:A:D can identify safety concerns or rule out concerns with new drugs or drug classes. This includes the newest integrase inhibitors (raltegravir, elvitegravir, dolutegravir). It can look at new drugs like etravirine, cobicistat and the new version of tenofovir (TAF).

D:A:D can look at long-term outcomes after treatment withnew hepatitis C drugs. More than 4,000 people in D:A:D are infected with both HIV and hepatitis C.

We need to know more about generics and co-formulated drugs.

We need to know more about drug-drug interactions and long-term safety. This is particularly true as we get older. By 2016, more than 5,000 people in D:A:D will be over 60. Half of the people in D:A:D will have been using HIV meds for more than 10 years.

If D:A:D is allowed to end, it will be lost forever.

If there is a new safety issue, we will not be able to rebuild D:A:D—16 years of results will be lost.

For these reasons, we urge the above companies to support the D:A:D study for another five years.

Continuing to fund D:A:D makes a powerful statement about your company’s commitment to people living with HIV/AIDS.